Chapter 80: The Penthouse Bloodbath

---

1. A City Holding Its Breath

Seoul was unusually quiet.

The underworld felt it coming.

Something was about to break.

Jinwoo stood on the rooftop across Hotel La Vita, his hands wrapped around the sniper rifle.

Through the scope, he had a perfect view of Choi Dae-hyun's penthouse.

The man sat inside, surrounded by bodyguards.

Jinwoo could end this now.

One clean shot.

But that would be too easy.

Jinwoo wasn't here for an assassination.

He was here for answers.

And if Hyun-seok was really behind this—

Then he needed Choi alive just long enough to talk.

Jinwoo exhaled.

Time to start the bloodbath.

---

2. The Storm Begins

Jinwoo moved quickly.

Down the fire escape. Through the service entrance.

His silencer took out the first two guards.

By the time the body hit the ground, he was already inside.

A hallway. Three guards patrolling.

Jinwoo vanished into the shadows.

One step. A knife to the throat.

Two steps. A silenced bullet between the eyes.

The third turned—too slow.

Jinwoo's blade slashed across his throat, spilling warmth onto the floor.

Silent. Precise. Deadly.

Jinwoo kept moving.

The penthouse was on the 30th floor.

He had twenty-eight more floors to clear.

---

3. The Elevator Trap

Jinwoo stepped into the elevator, pressed the button.

Ding.

As the doors slid closed, his instincts screamed.

He threw himself to the side just as the metal walls exploded with gunfire.

A trap.

They knew he was coming.

Jinwoo hit the emergency stop, forced the doors open, and climbed into the elevator shaft.

Below, more men flooded the floors.

Above, a sniper was already lining up a shot.

Jinwoo leapt.

His hands caught the ledge of the 27th floor.

He swung himself up—

Gunfire erupted.

Jinwoo rolled behind cover, pulled his own gun.

A quick burst. Two men fell.

Another lunged—

Jinwoo dodged, grabbed his arm, and snapped it backward.

The man screamed.

Jinwoo ended it with a bullet to the skull.

Then—

A voice in his earpiece.

"You're early, Jinwoo."

Hyun-seok.

---

4. A Voice From the Dead

Jinwoo's blood ran cold.

The voice wasn't a recording.

It wasn't a trick.

It was him.

Hyun-seok.

Alive.

Jinwoo gritted his teeth.

"You should've stayed dead."

Hyun-seok's laugh was low, mocking.

"I tried. But the devil doesn't want me, and neither does God."

Jinwoo's fingers tightened around his gun.

"Where are you?"

Silence. Then—

"You'll see me soon."

The line cut off.

Jinwoo exhaled, his rage sharpening.

He didn't have time for games.

First, Choi Dae-hyun.

Then, Hyun-seok.

He reloaded his gun.

And moved.

---

5. The Penthouse Massacre

By the time Jinwoo reached the 30th floor, the alarms were blaring.

The penthouse doors burst open.

Five armed men.

Jinwoo moved first.

A shot to the knee. A bullet to the skull.

Another lunged—Jinwoo grabbed his wrist, twisted—a sickening snap.

Two more fired.

Jinwoo rolled, emptying his clip into them.

Bodies dropped. Blood painted the walls.

Silence.

Then—

A slow clap.

Jinwoo turned.

At the center of the room, Choi Dae-hyun sat calmly.

A smirk on his lips.

As if he had been expecting this.

Jinwoo leveled his gun.

"Talk."

Choi Dae-hyun chuckled.

"I would, but it seems… he got here first."

Jinwoo frowned.

Then he heard it.

A click behind him.

A gun against his head.

And a voice he knew far too well.

Hyun-seok.

Jinwoo froze.

"You should've killed me properly, old friend."

---

End of Chapter 80

(Next Chapter: The Ghost of Hyun-seok.)